Premier Boxing Champions headed to ESPN and ABC

Another major announcement arrived today as it relates to Al Haymon’s boxing series, Premier Boxing Champions, as it was revealed this morning that Haymon has entered into a multi-year agreement with ESPN.

The first of the 12 two-hour shows will debut on July 11 at 9 p.m. ET on both ESPN and ESPN Deportes, while ABC will broadcast shows on Saturday afternoons. ESPN card will air on Saturday nights.

This is yet another big move for Haymon Boxing, which manages and advises the careers of fighters such as Andre Berto, Danny Garcia, Keith Thurman and of course Floyd Mayweather (who of course only fights on PPV). Premier Boxing Champions now has air-time, which Haymon has purchased, on ABC, NBC and CBS, as well as ESPN and Spike, which has completely altered the landscape of how fight fans will consume boxing on TV.

With the move however, ESPN Friday Night Fights, which airs on ESPN2, will come to a close in May, with the finale of this year’s Boxcino tournament on May 22.

“ESPN has a long history of carrying world-class boxing events and the new Premier Boxing Champions series continues our commitment to the sport with premier-level primetime fights previously only available on premium cable networks,” said John Skipper, ESPN president.

Blow-by-blow commentator Joe Tessitore and analyst Teddy Atlas, will both continue their ringside coverage for ESPN and will also call fights on ABC card, with additional on-air commentators set to be announced at a later date.

Live coverage of fights will be viewable through the WatchESPN app and ESPN3 will air both preliminary bouts and live weigh-ins.